Analyzing the efficacy of subtropical urban forests in offsetting carbon emissions from cities

Escobedo, Francisco J.; Varela, Sebastián; Min, Zhao; Wagner, John E.; Zipperer, Wayne C.

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2010.03.009

Cited by 195 publications

(133 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Only 14% of studies engaged with all components of the ecosystem services cascade (see for example, (Wang et al, 2009); (Escobedo et al, 2010)), while 35% only considered a single isolated aspect of the cascade model (i.e. structure, or function, or benefit).…”

Section: The Ecosystem Service Cascadementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple ecological structures can provide a single service (Davies et al, 2011), and a single structure is also capable of providing multiple services (Smith et al, 2013). Urban forests, for example, which were the most frequently examined structures within the data set (20%) might be assessed for their carbon uptake (Escobedo et al, 2010) or their ability to combat the urban heat island effect (Jenerette et al, 2011). While individual trees in gardens (9%) might contribute to such services at a city-wide level, or be valued and managed preliminary for providing cultural identity (Fraser and Kenney, 2000), or increasing property value (Donovan and Butry, 2011) at the level of the individual household.…”

Section: Ecological Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of urban ecosystem services: six key challenges for future research

et al. 2015

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a b s t r a c tGlobal urbanization creates opportunities and challenges for human well-being and transition towards sustainability. Urban areas are human-environment systems that depend fundamentally on ecosystems, and thus require an understanding of the management of urban ecosystem services to ensure sustainable urban planning. The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic review of urban ecosystems services research, which addresses the combined domain of ecosystem services and urban development. We examined emerging trends and gaps in how urban ecosystem services are conceptualized in peer-reviewed case study literature, including the geographical distribution of research, the development and use of the urban ecosystem services concept, and the involvement of stakeholders. We highlight six challenges aimed at strengthening the concept's potential to facilitate meaningful inter-and transdisciplinary work for ecosystem services research and planning. Achieving a cohesive conceptual approach in the research field will address (i) the need for more extensive spatial and contextual coverage, (ii) continual clarification of definitions, (iii) recognition of limited data transferability, (iv) more comprehensive stakeholder involvement, (v) more integrated research efforts, and (vi) translation of scientific findings into actionable knowledge, feeding information back into planning and management. We conclude with recommendations for conducting further research while incorporating these challenges.

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Section: The Ecosystem Service Cascadementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ecological Structuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of urban ecosystem services: six key challenges for future research

et al. 2015

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“…Studies on C storage and sequestration by urban forests have been mostly conducted in the United States (Rowntree and Nowak, 1991;Nowak, 1993Nowak, , 1994Jo and McPherson, 1995;McPherson et al, 1997McPherson et al, , 1999McPherson, 1998;Myeong et al, 2006;McHale et al, 2007McHale et al, , 2009Escobedo et al, 2010). However, there has been an increasing interest in quantification of C storage and sequestration by urban forests in both developing and developed countries (e.g., Brack, 2002;Jo, 2002;Yang et al, 2005;Gratani and Varone, 2006;Myeong et al, 2006;Stoffberg et al, 2010;Zhao et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban forests in Shenyang, China

Liu

2012

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

226

137

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“…However, other authors argue that urban forests can play an important role in mitigating the impacts of climate change if compared to other policies at the city level (McHale et al 2007;Escobedo et al 2010;Zhao et al 2010;Liu and Li 2012).…”

Section: Urban Forests Potential Contribution To Meet Climate Change mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential of urban green space in contributing to the compliance of these environmental targets is broadly neglected by urban policy-makers (Nowak 2006;Escobedo et al 2011). Yet, a growing number of studies conclude that management of urban forests to enhance ecosystem services supply can be a cost-effective strategy to meet specific environmental standards or policy targets (e.g., Escobedo et al 2008Escobedo et al , 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contribution of Ecosystem Services to Air Quality and Climate Change Mitigation Policies: The Case of Urban Forests in Barcelona, Spain

2016

Urban Forests

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Mounting research highlights the contribution of ecosystem services provided by urban forests to quality of life in cities, yet these services are rarely explicitly considered in environmental policy targets. We quantify regulating services provided by urban forests and evaluate their contribution to comply with policy targets of air quality and climate change mitigation in the municipality of Barcelona, Spain. We apply the i-Tree Eco model to quantify in biophysical and monetary terms the ecosystem services ''air purification,'' ''global climate regulation,'' and the ecosystem disservice ''air pollution'' associated with biogenic emissions. Our results show that the contribution of urban forests regulating services to abate pollution is substantial in absolute terms, yet modest when compared to overall city levels of air pollution and GHG emissions. We conclude that in order to be effective, green infrastructure-based efforts to offset urban pollution at the municipal level have to be coordinated with territorial policies at broader spatial scales.

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Analyzing the efficacy of subtropical urban forests in offsetting carbon emissions from cities

Cited by 195 publications

References 15 publications

A review of urban ecosystem services: six key challenges for future research

A review of urban ecosystem services: six key challenges for future research

Carbon storage and sequestration by urban forests in Shenyang, China

Contribution of Ecosystem Services to Air Quality and Climate Change Mitigation Policies: The Case of Urban Forests in Barcelona, Spain

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